Scanmaster

[pvt num 11]

Aloha,

I only had the honor of meeting Rob and Derek (when he was still here), so I dont' know anyone else, but my TTA is running like tota crap, and it happened all of a great sudden, so I'm wondering if a sensor (probably MAF...shrug) up and died on me. I don't have a scanmaster, so I was wondering if I could borrow one, that or stop over at someone's house who has one, and gather some readings right there (assuming my car can even GET there...if the speed limit is over thirty, forget it) or something like that.

Plus, it would be just smurfy to meet some of you guys. Don't some of you all live in Ewa Beach? I'm now located at Iroquois Point, so I'm not very far away.

Sigh... the joys of owning a high-mileage beater TTA...

 

[Geoff87]

Check for codes first. If you suspect that it's the MAF, try unplugging it and running the car in limp mode.

 

[pvt num 11]

Tried that, car idles a bit (and just a bit) better, but it dies out when stuck into gear. Plus, it doesn't throw a light until the MAF is unplugged, and I can guess what code that one is... So, I drove it, plugged back in. I'm wondering if I have a vacuum leak, I have a hose flopping around and I can't figure out what it's connected to, or where it goes. I'd post a picture, but since we moved, I can't seem to find my camera - oh, but I could always use my cell phone...

 

[pvt num 11]

Fresh gas (Cheveron 92) and my problem went away. Wierd. I probably masked the real problem, and I'll pay close attention to performance as my tank empties.

 

[Ryan]

Guess you had a tank of bad gas.... water maybe.

 

[pvt num 11]

Guess again... it's back... idles and runs fine one minute, then it runs like total crap. Black smoke. Smells like fuel. I'd hazard a guess that I have an injector or two that won't play nice nice with the others, shooting too much fuel, and it runs uber-rich. Or something.

How bad is it to unplug an injector from the wiring harness, and start the car? I'm wondering if I can isolate it to one particular injector, if (besides the fact it'll only run off of one cylinder) the intermittant power loss goes away once a certain injector is unplugged. It's that or rip them all out and have them checked out and/or cleaned.

 

[Ryan]

I would assume that disconecting the spark plug wires one by one would yeild the same results. Use one of those spark plug wire pliers, you can pull one at a time while it's running.

 

[quicker6]

Hey Ian,
Have you ever tried some fuel injector cleaner?? Just a thought but, I know that a lot of the time it frees up some stuck injectors. It worked for the van but, never tried on the GN. Never had that problem. Good luck. You may want to check your engine wiring harness ends (at the connectors) to make sure they are ok. Doesn't hurt to wiggle stuff around while the engine (tries to) runs anyway. Tell everyone at work I said hello...
Derek

 

[pvt num 11]

I wiggled the injector connectors, didn't do anything. I used some of that spray-in throttle-body cleaner stuff two weeks ago, all sorts of oil was all over the plenum throat and throttle blades. Ran great after I did that, for about half a week. I had used two consecutive bottles of injector cleaner when I ran it out of gas that one time, too, but that was a few months ago.

Now that you mention it, my engine rocks around a lot on the mounts - and if it's at low idle, I can hear it banging against something. Maybe I'm grounding a wire out or something...? I'll have to poke around at the wiring harness.

Plugs... Good idea, I'll go look for the puller.

 

[pvt num 11]

Pulled my front driver's plug, it's black with soot. I trust that indicates a too-rich condition? Disconnected my MAF, let the car idle for a good half-hour, seemed okay, that was Friday - Thinking that limp-home mode disabled O2 sensor data (among other things), I wondered if my O2 sensor was terribly off, and the car was trying to enrich itself, based off of a funky sensor reading. However...

Today, drove it to work, it wanted to stumble and try to die off. Thumping the gas kept it alive, but it is SOOOOO running terribly, even in limp-home mode. I wonder if it's a mechanical or electrical (non-computer) problem? With the MAF plugged in, no codes being thrown.

Grrrrrr... I'm about to take it to a shop and hand them a blank check.